BRIGADE

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Brand Lead of a supplements company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We make science-backed herbal supplements. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire BRIGADE to accomplish?

• Brand the entire project
• Website development

SOLUTION

How did you find BRIGADE?

Online Search

Why did you select BRIGADE over others?

Great culture fit

How many teammates from BRIGADE were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Branding the project: We asked Brigade to craft the entire brand narrative for us from initial strategy to messaging & communication of it. 

Web design: This extended out into web design and the development of 5 key website pages to help us go live as early as possible.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The reason we chose Brigade is while other agences gave us long timelines, Brigade was incredible about meeting us in the middle with our very tight timeline. The team worked to deliver our brand strategy and packaging design in a matter of weeks – something other agencies were unable to deliver on. 

We were able to go live with our website in a few months because of the incredible work Brigade put in and also kickstart other branding initiatives because the team had delivered the strategy to us in record time. Our packaging went live 4 weeks post strategy which is an internal (and external, I'm sure) record. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They were prompt on email, always available to hop on a call, and supremely organised in everything they delivered to us.

What was your primary form of communication with BRIGADE?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The TEAM! Kirsten – the founder – promised us on the very first call that we wouldn't be disappointed and we weren't. The team really showed up for us like family and became an extension of our organization very quickly. 

The most unique thing is that they didn't fight us on deadlines, unrealistic as they may have been from our end. They really pushed to make it work for us!

Are there any areas for improvement or something BRIGADE could have done differently?

NOTHING from us here and I'm glad to say so.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CMO of ConvenientMD

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Urgent Care and Primary Care provider

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire BRIGADE to accomplish?

• Refresh our identity to differentiate our brand in the urgent care space and allow us to expand into other health services
• Build quarterly communications programs from concept to final design
• Partner on other various design projects

SOLUTION

How did you find BRIGADE?

Referral

Why did you select BRIGADE over others?

• Great culture fit
• Great work

How many teammates from BRIGADE were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Full rebrand exercise from concepts to finished visual identity and brand guidelines
• Ongoing advertising communications support including concepts, messaging, design, and finished digital assets (static and rich media)
• Website design
• Employee apparel design
• Values posters
• Social marketing videos

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• 100% increase in web traffic since rebrand
• Favorite Urgent Care brand in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine
• Able to convert Urgent Care patients to Primary Care members at 60%
• Internal team loves the brand
• Recruiting page on website saw 35% lift in traffic after rebrand
• Team is buying the apparel we designed (spending their own money)

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Brigade is very responsive and sticks to their deadlines. They proactively drive all the projects and can adapt when directions change.

What was your primary form of communication with BRIGADE?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They behave as a true partner, seeking to not only understand the project, but our business as a whole so that they can bring forward the best solution.

Are there any areas for improvement or something BRIGADE could have done differently?

No. Very much enjoy working with Brigade.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee. We’re a 30-year-old organic fair-trade coffee company based in Massachusetts. We do direct trade with coffee farmers worldwide and cooperative community development projects with the coffee farming communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BRIGADE?

We wanted to get a new logo and elevate our one-pound coffee bags and brand design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BRIGADE provided branding, marketing, and design services. Initially, we gave them extensive information about our coffee, the countries we source from, and our work in the coffee lands. We worked together on the background information so they’d have a solid foundation.

They helped us define our user persona and did a lot of values-based work. Then, they gave us several possible approaches based on our values to represent our company’s identity. We started with multiple choices and honed on the design representation. Once we landed on an approach, BRIGADE developed it more.

The team used Adobe Creative Cloud and worked on the color scheme and visual identity. Additionally, they created visual representations for the packaging and updated our logo.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Kirsten (Executive Creative Director), Liz (Development Manager), and the design team.

How did you come to work with BRIGADE?

We found them through word of mouth in our region and looked at their website and client list. We also researched the websites and brand presence of some of their clients. After interviewing a couple of design and marketing companies, we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $60,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on that project from July 2019–April 2020; it was an extensive nine-month process. Additionally, we started working with them again this summer for another series of projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our customers love the bags; we get a lot of positive feedback from our wholesale and retail customers on the packaging. BRIGADE also won a couple of industry awards for package design.

Moreover, their work was beneficial because it coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. The wholesale part of our business reduced dramatically because many restaurants and cafés shut down for a while. However, many more people were looking to buy coffee online. Since we were well-positioned thanks to our strong packaging and brand, our traffic and web sales catapulted through the roof.

How did BRIGADE perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was excellent. They had a great level of communication about the project; they kept us posted on the progress and timeline. If they made changes or the project's complexity changed, they were clear about the financial impact. We communicated through email, phone calls, and Zoom meetings. Overall, they were strong in their management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had a tremendous amount of integrity as a company and team. We consistently felt that we could trust them to deliver extraordinary work. They listened well and were responsive to what they heard. Many designers don’t listen well to clients and just do what they do. However, BRIGADE always came back with a direct response to our wants and needs.

Overall, their design skills and professionalism were outstanding. BRIGADE was the whole package, and they brought it all to the table.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of any area they could’ve improved.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about the outcome that you want and communicate it to them. Also, it’s better to have someone as the point person to coordinate the collaboration. For example, their project manager worked directly with me, and then I shared the information with my team so it’d be streamlined and focused.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a beverage company. We develop sodas, teas, lemonades, and non-alcoholic beers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BRIGADE?

We were developing a new line of beverages, and although we’ve been in business for decades, this line was a new venture for us. Therefore, we wanted to create a product image that looked different, so we needed help from an external partner who could take our vision and make it into something real that our customers would love.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BRIGADE has helped us come up with the name, look and feel, colors, and messaging for our new venture. Basically, they’ve taken the DNA and basis of our new brand and translated it into something real.

BRIGADE has also designed the cans for our beverages and the imagery around our mood boards. These mood boards will influence the colors and lifestyle images we will use to promote our new products. Additionally, they’ve developed two consumer-facing websites for us.

Throughout the process, they provided us with different design options — three for soda cans and two for tea cans — and 12 different names for the teas, all of which were better names than the ones we reviewed in the past.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with Kirsten (Founder & Executive Creative Director), Joe and Robert (Creative Directors), and Liz (Development Manager). 

How did you come to work with BRIGADE?

Another company in the industry recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $47,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2022, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Each design option that BRIGADE has delivered has been optimal; their designs are very thoughtful and have great colors. Additionally, they excel at not only designing attractive cans but also understanding the science behind how the consumer’s brain works and the sequencing of how their eye will look at the package.

Since this is a new brand, we will measure the impact it has in the market, but we haven’t launched it yet, so we don’t have any metrics.

How did BRIGADE perform from a project management standpoint?

BRIGADE has performed excellently, and they’ve been on top of deadlines. We had a pretty aggressive deadline initially, but their team was already delivering a product that met our expectations within a couple of days after starting our engagement. We generally communicate via email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Working with other companies has usually been challenging for me because some of them are very good at pitching their services, but the end products turn out to be different from what was originally promised. However, we can tell that BRIGADE acts as an arm of our team, almost as an equity partner, and they care about what we’re trying to accomplish. Their team is very involved and on top of our project, and they deliver quality work as a result, which gives us a lot of comfort and confidence in the whole process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I don’t have any constructive feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have your feedback and your internal mechanisms for providing feedback ready because BRIGADE takes feedback very seriously. The more nuance you can provide them with regarding what you like and dislike about their deliverables, the better they’ll translate that feedback into something that meets your expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of project development, sales, and marketing for a construction company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BRIGADE?

We needed new branding and a new website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BRIGADE has designed a new logo, a new website, and new marketing materials for us. The site was built from scratch on WordPress by a developer they subcontracted, but they were in charge of its entire design. As for the marketing materials, these have included business cards, marketing ads, lettering for our vehicles, proposal documents and templates for our presentations, and more.

What is the team composition?

We work with three dedicated resources from BRIGADE, including a senior account manager, the associate creative director, and a senior creative.

How did you come to work with BRIGADE?

We found them through a Google search. I just Googled design companies, interviewed a few of them, and chose BRIGADE.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Thanks to BRIGADE’s efforts, our website traffic has increased by 200%. Our leads and conversations have also increased, although those have been harder to track.

How did BRIGADE perform from a project management standpoint?

BRIGADE’s performance has been outstanding. They use Google Docs to manage the project, and we communicate via phone calls, emails, and Google Meet meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

BRIGADE’s main strengths are their communication, accountability, and quality of work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know how they could improve; they’re amazing!

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more responsive you are, the quicker they can turn around assets.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Managing Editor of UMass Magazine, the semiannual alumni magazine for the flagship UMass Amherst campus, with a circulation of about 240,000 print copies per issue.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BRIGADE?

We rely on BRIGADE to create exciting, engaging layouts for each of our feature stories (up to 15 spreads per issue), produce illustrations for many of them, and pull everything together for each issue—flowing in copy and art, handling multiple rounds of review, and preparing final files for the printer. BRIGADE also creates custom sized versions of the art to fit the needs of our web edition.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Initially, BRIGADE was selected by our CMO, but our experience with them has been so positive, and our collaboration with them has become so integral to the magazine, that we were very happy to award them a larger contract through the UMass RFB process.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The magazine is a complex project with so many details - 52 pages plus covers, twice a year.

• Kickoff - ideas, themes, and concepts for the issue, word counts and page maps, how many illustrations we'll need. Layout Concepts - Lorem Ipsum spreads using creative briefs to provide inspiration for each article, then iterations in response to feedback (For this process BRIGADE brought us into Adobe creative cloud for ease of working together, and that's been great!)
• Art and Copy: Flowing in final art (usually helping select or create this art) and copy once these elements are ready, making adjustments as needed to the layouts and illustrations, adding photo treatments. And this happens after they've carefully tracked each deliverable needed from us!
• Review: Once the pages are in good shape, we work through 3 rounds of the complete book, and BRIGADE makes edits for us as the book gets finalized. Production: BRIGADE mechanizes the final files and delivers them to the printer. They also create and supply a cadre of images and PDFs we can use to promote the magazine online and to create the web edition.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We generally work directly with Alexia Geary, account manager, and Tim MacKay, art director. Designer David Foote, illustrator Thom Dudley, and other staff are also brought in to work on the layouts, but having Tim and Alexia as our points of contact is really helpful.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The magazine consistently garners rave reviews from our alumni, including mentions of the design's freshness and relevance. In the past year, the magazine has also won design awards including: A Hermes platinum award, an award of excellence from Communication Arts, and three gold awards from the Ad Club of Western Massachusetts. https://www.umass.edu/magazine/awards

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I've worked with designers and firms for over 20 years and BRIGADE is just the best, in terms of what they produce of course, but definitely in terms of the workflow. They're extremely clear and great with details, expert collaborators in any electronic systems, as flexible as possible about deadline shifts, super professional in taking feedback, and willing to continuously improve and adapt the workflow. What more can one ask?!

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

We're consistently impressed by the high level of creativity they bring to their work and their ability to take a germ of an idea and run with it. They're communicative, sharp, fun, and a joy to collaborate with. They get excited when we deliver photos—they're really invested in making this magazine the best it can be.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No project of this size and scope happens without hiccups! What's perhaps most amazing is when we hit wrinkles in our process, or something goes awry, the BRIGADE team is always receptive, direct, and quick to make needed corrections to designs, processes, templates, etc. That's what makes a collaboration survive and persist—they've become invaluable partners for us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Marketing for Canndescent, a top supplier of cannabis in California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BRIGADE, and what were your goals?

We lacked resources to develop custom strain specific packaging for a new brand VOLCANNX. We asked them to create bold and dynamic graphics for key strains in both 1/8 jars and mylars.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had a long history of working with Brigade in the spirits category while working on SVEDKA with Constellation Brands.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

We provided them with the brief on each strain as well as packaging mandatories. They created each custom package from scratch and presented it back to the Marketing team with one round of changes before the went to mechanicals. They have created six custom strain packages for us.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There were three people from Brigade on each call Kirsten the founder, Elena the account executive and Joe the head of creative.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Brigade is so easy to work with. They are fast and nimble. They understood the brief and delivered amazing packaging on time.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Elena manages the timelines and communication. She is a pleasure to work as the team is collaborative and responsive.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The most impressive thing about Brigade are the people. Not only are they talented and deliver but it is fun and a pleasure to work with them.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No improvements needed!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a marketing director at an aesthetics device company. We distribute cutting edge aesthetics technology to plastic surgeons, dermatologists, medical spas, and other providers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BRIGADE, and what were your goals?

Our brand has reached a 5-year milestone, and it was the perfect time to refresh our branding and positioning (we changed a lot in 5 years!). We hired Brigade to help evolve our point of view, our language, and our look and feel across several verticals.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Brigade was one of the agencies recommended by our digital agency partner. We considered 3-4 agencies for the job and in the end chose Brigade because of the team energy and dynamics, their impressive portfolio, and their passion for the project.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

The first step was a discovery process: they conducted a deep dive of all of our existing materials and interviewed key stakeholders (internal and external) about how they view the brand. This resulted in a brand audit and some initial thoughts for how we might evolve. We then started exploring (A/B pathing) the brand visual identity and language.

Once we landed on the direction, we continued refining and began working on actual assets (sales materials, digital materials, website, key copy outputs, photoshoot). They also produced an awesome sizzle video for us to announce the new branding in the company. We're still working together (at the time of this review) to continue working on these assets and update our brand guidelines.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We primarily worked with the project manager, two Creative Directors (one focused on visuals, one focused on strategy & copy), and had constant input and contact with the Executive Creative Director as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

While we haven't launched the official brand yet, the feedback along the way has been overwhelmingly positive. We've shared sneak peaks with various key leaders in the company and everyone has loved the evolution and elevation of the brand.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Since the start of the project, we've had weekly status meetings with the project manager and creative director(s). Outside of the weekly meeting, we also frequently communicate over email, and the response from Brigade is always timely. The project manager also does a great job reporting on progress and hours tracking - she creates a burn report each month (and upon request for additional reports) to help us understand how we're pacing on our hours. Overall they're very flexible, roll with the ball type of people, and have been very adaptable as the project morphed.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

As far as creative agencies go, there's absolutely no ego. They're total team players and just really fun, easygoing people.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing comes to mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am one of the owners of a boutique vineyard and winery in Western Massachusetts that creates notable, award-winning wines from estate-grown grapes and grapes sourced from the Northeast.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BRIGADE, and what were your goals?

We came to Brigade looking for brand identity and label design for our product. Black Birch wanted to set itself apart from other wine brands by creating a unique look that stood out and coincided with our own personalities and product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Everything about Black Birch is about supporting our local community and economy. We were thrilled to be able to team up with a top-notch brand and advertising company that was right here in Western MA. It was a no-brainer and a perfect match.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Key team players and the founder of Brigade met with us and learned who we were as people and what our goals were as a business. Every step and process, whether it was the initial development of our brand and label design to subsequent designs for new product lines or merchandise, they guided and collaborated with us with each step so that we were excited and comfortable with the final outcome.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had worked with project managers, creative directors and the owner at all levels of projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Brigade has created beautiful and amazing bottle labels for us and when customers comment on them or they pick these bottles out at a store over another bottle of wine, that's success!

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Timely, organized, communicative and effective. Email is my preferred way of communication but they are always open to other forms of communication as well.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They really understand what drives the market and what works whether it is on a local, regional or national level. Brigade does this with a team that is creative and innovative, always thinking outside the box.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

If there were any areas of improvement, I wouldn't be using them anymore. They have always strived to do things better and that's all you can ask.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Chief Marketing Officer at Checkwriters - a Payroll and HR services company with thousands of clients across the county. Our software helps business owners and HR professionals manage the Payroll and HR aspects of their respective organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BRIGADE?

We were looking to refresh our logo and branding to match our upward trajectory and growing national footprint. In addition, we wanted a set of custom illustrations to match this new branding which could be used both on our site and in our software to communicate various themes and topics and prospective clients and current users of our system.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to modernize our look and feel and leverage a 'stand-alone' logo that would communicate growth and positivity. This would enable us to communicate to prospective clients the range of services we offer and the versatility of our software.

SOLUTION

How did you select BRIGADE?

We had heard positive things about BRIGADE. We reviewed their site for past work and were impressed with the 'wow factor' they seemed to embody in their projects. After speaking with references BRIGADE provided, we decided to move forward.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

For the logo design and brand refresh, BRIGADE was very thorough. They developed and conducted both internal and external questionnaires to gauge our current messaging. They researched our industry and competition. They also held a number of calls with me to provide recommendations and ensure we were on the right path. Then, they presented options for the refresh, messaging, and logo. Their flexibility throughout this process was exceptional.

What was the team composition?

They were 4-5 members of BRIGADE's team involved at all times - the founder was also very hands-on during the creative development and feedback stages which was impressive.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team I worked with was notable for their nimbleness and flexibility. Their communication was excellent - there was never I time where I couldn't get in touch with them.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It's evident that BRIGADE follows a proven process with their clients that's designed to maximize the impact of the project. They are extremely organized and thorough, adhering to each stage of their process as initially outlined. Importantly, this does not prevent them from maintaining flexibility - which was vital as we had a number of internal stakeholders who were not involved in every stage but still needed to be on board with the significant changes of a new logo and branding.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No - we are very pleased!